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Hello, Lisa Rygiel here with this week’s e-formation.  

I had a delightful chat yesterday evening with my sister-in-law Trisha, John’s youngest sister.  Our congregation has been praying for her with her thyroid issues and subsequent surgery.  She is okay, thank you all for your prayers. It appears that no follow-up chemo or radiation will be required, thank you, Lord!

As most of you know, I too recently had surgery (hiatal hernia repair).  Prior to our respective surgeries, both of us were more apprehensive than perhaps we should have been but the loss of my little sister Beth, during what should have been a simple surgery several years ago, weighed heavily on both of our minds preoperatively. 

Now that we are both on our way to recovery, we realized that we shared something else in common. We both shared the feeling that we had “hit a roadblock”.  It was like the direction we had been traveling was now blocked off and there was a detour sign in place to point us in a different direction, where the world was kinder, more lovely.  

As Trisha put it, “The sunsets seem so much brighter now.”  We both realized that having gotten past our fear, the world seemed to be a much more beautiful place than we had noticed before.  The grass greener, the roses sweeter, children’s laughter brighter, pets more adorable, the faces of loved ones more beautiful.  The lives we had been living were somehow less important and it was time to “wake up and smell the coffee” about what was truly important in this life.  

Maybe these feelings are just a normal part of aging (feel free to let me know!) or the knowledge that no one is guaranteed another day on this earth and we should appreciate each and every moment. Whatever the reason, it seemed significant that we experienced the same feelings although we are many miles apart!  For now, we are taking time to admire the world in which we live day by day, taking direction from the Creator through the Creation!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

or let the fish in the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand is the life of every creature

and the breath of all mankind.

Job 12: 7-8

Special Message from Pastor Andrea!

Dear fellow disciples and friends,  

Thank you so much for your constant prayers, love, and accompaniment.  My Camino journey was a blessed walk because of the Lord and you! I continue to process it and receive insights from our God and expect this will continue.  It was fun to share photos and stories with you yesterday-thanks for your interest! I want to extend a special thank you for my “coat of many colors” prayer shawl (as Paul has named it) that you gave me yesterday.  It is truly a labor of love and beauty and I do and will cherish it.  What a gift Zion’s is to me and I pray you as well.  Let us continue to share the love which is the Lord with one another as well as strangers! And as Lisa encouraged us yesterday, tell what wonderful things God has done in our lives.  God wrapped me in love through this shawl!  Truly God blesses me through you, and I thank you!! Have a great week dear followers of Jesus! 

Love, Andrea

 

Announcements:

This week -- (other meetings/gatherings will be taking place as well but here are some things to note):

Saturday, June 25, 5-Loaves prep and delivery

Preparation will take place between 7:30 and 8:00.  Deliveries to follow at about 9 a.m.  Please contact Jo Moss if you can assist.

Sunday, June 26, The 3rd Sunday after Pentecost

· 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning Bible study 

We are studying "The Wesley Challenge".  This is a study intended to develop our spiritual lives and help us become more deeply committed Christians. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/907628370?pwd=eFVCTEVhb0xqMXcxY2xaUG5JMUZEdz09 Or Dial 1 312 626 6799 -- Meeting ID: 907 628 370, Passcode: 332397.

· 10 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion 

Please join us, either in person OR via ZOOM ('hybrid' worship). If you will be worshiping via Zoom, log on or call in using these links: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/91739214242?pwd=b1QrZzk0QzBtM1RXZnZuaVFVMDNmZz09 -- or Dial: 1 301 715 8592 -- Meeting ID: 917 3921 4242 -- Password: 731771. For those of you who will be worshiping in person, masks will now be at the discretion of each individual. We continue to be mindful of all the different ways people are compromised that may not be known and so please continue to practice healthy community habits such as staying home when you are sick, etc. 

Worship leader: Becky McNeal; 

Assistant: Lisa Rygiel; 

Organist: Connie Pallone; 

Ushering: John Rygiel and Mike McNeil; 

Reading: Mike McNeil; 

Communion prep/cleanup: John & Lisa Rygiel

Flowers: Donated by Doris Blalock with gratefulness for our seniors!

· Fellowship time at approximately 11:15 a.m. to share a cup of coffee/soda and conversation!

· Bread and Belonging on summer hiatus.

Other important stuff of note:

  1. These volunteers would monitor the sanctuary door and check that doors in the fellowship hall are locked during services and after everyone has left. Please see Jeff Smith or any member of the council if you would be interested. 
  2. Women's Bible Study: The Study series is on the Psalms. The next session will be held Friday, July 8 at 9:30 a.m. We will meet in person in the fellowship hall downstairs and will also be on Zoom. Any questions can be directed to Becky McNeil or Carol Smith. All are welcome! To Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83136424723?pwd=TkxsQVllMmo2bVlSekN0dGZqbzF1Zz09 -- Meeting ID: 831 3642 4723, Passcode: 865505 (or call in 1-312-626-6799).

  1. The flower ministry blesses our worship space, and they bring such joy to our sanctuary.  Please coordinate with Lynn Chase to sponsor the flowers.
  2. Prayer Shawl Ministry:  Are you interested in knitting one/some to share? Join the knitters who bless so many. 
  3. If you wish to receive a link to yesterday’s sermon, please send an email to Zionsluth@gmail.com or contact Jo Moss.

-formation

In the gospel reading for this coming Sunday, Jesus says once more, “Follow me.” We are glad to have one another accompany us on this path. Come to worship, as together we hear this word and heed his invitation to the life of the Spirit.

The Readings in the Bible

Luke 9: 51-62

With this passage, Luke begins to narrate Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem, where he will be “taken up,” that is, arrested, crucified, risen, and ascended. This travel narrative is unique to Luke and important to the gospel’s structure and meaning. Luke opens this second-third of his gospel with the rejections of some Samaritans. By Jesus’ time, Samaritans were primarily Gentile peoples descended from those who had not been deported, who had replaced the exiled Jews, and thus who had become alienated from full-blooded Jews. Luke’s Semitic phrase “set his face” connotes turning towards hostility. In Luke, Jesus refuses to punish the unbelievers with fire. Luke’s openness to people in poverty is enhanced by the depiction of Jesus as himself homeless. Indeed, the gospels say nothing about Jesus working for a living. A wide range of interpretations have been offered for Jesus’ stark comment “let the dead bury their dead”: Luke means spiritual death; “bury my father” meant to live at home until one’s father died; not even one’s parent’s funeral should interfere with the call to proclaim the kingdom.

1 Kings 19: 15-16, 19-21

In the sixth-century religious history that we title 1 Kings, the Deuteronomic editor uses the Elijah cycle to illustrate the strict devotion of those who are faithful to the covenant. This passage begins the transfer of prophetic power from Elijah to Elisha. The hair-shirt mantle was part of the prophets’ official dress. Twelve oxen may suggest the twelve tribes of Israel or may indicate Elisha’s wealth. Their slaughter symbolizes the end of Elisha’s old life of farming.

Galatians 5: 1, 13-25

Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, written in the early 50s, is his manifesto concerning Christian freedom and its relationship to the Jewish Torah. After an extended allegory of Hagar and Sarah, Paul distinguishes Christian freedom from personal liberty. By “flesh,” sarx, Paul means the human as an earthly creature focused on the survival of the self. By “spirit” Paul means the power of God made available to the believer through the risen Christ. Paul’s catalog of vices (Vv. 19-21), several of which upset or destroy the unity of the community, was probably derived from early Christian teaching. The catalog of virtues (vv.22-23) includes both deeds and attitudes.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785